the LEDs came!! *PICS*
01-11-2002, 05:30 PM
#41
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you should be able to dim the leds with no problem you can always put a load resistor anywhere in the circut to cause the voltage to lower when you dim the lights. another idea you could use to dim the lights is in the dimmer control is a pot this runs a transistor that sends more or less current to the lighting circut. you can add a resistor to the pot on the dash to allow the transistor to operate in it's closer to turned off state. they probly set the max resistance in the pot to be such that it wont let an incandescent buld go fully out. the cool thing about the LED's is that they will not turn yellow like a light bulb does when it has low voltage to it . an LED will remain the same color reguardless of the brightness.
also nate.. you said the red is not easy to see on the temp control. is there a way that putting a white LED in that place that lights that side could be used instead? do you thinbk it would be noticed amongst al the blue? maby that would work?
also nate.. you said the red is not easy to see on the temp control. is there a way that putting a white LED in that place that lights that side could be used instead? do you thinbk it would be noticed amongst al the blue? maby that would work?
01-11-2002, 05:36 PM
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also instead of cutting the plastic would it be too difficult to just make a small extention for the resistors with some small gauge wire? like the red and black wire you find in telephone wire. then mount the resistor to the back of switches near the plug hold it with some electrical tape?
01-11-2002, 06:26 PM
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So now that you got em in and see how bright and blue everything is, I gotta ask...
would you have done anything different now in hindsight?
Maybe less powerful LEDs? Different shade of Blue? smaller viewing angle?
Strange that the filter on the defrost button doesn't let light through. I guess we'd be better off leaving that switch stock?
would you have done anything different now in hindsight?
Maybe less powerful LEDs? Different shade of Blue? smaller viewing angle?
Strange that the filter on the defrost button doesn't let light through. I guess we'd be better off leaving that switch stock?
01-11-2002, 07:57 PM
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Wow...
That looks pretty shweet! I wish I had the cajones to do something like that...
Of course, it might be a bit overboard for my already-blue TLS...
Killer stuff, man!
Of course, it might be a bit overboard for my already-blue TLS...
Killer stuff, man!
01-11-2002, 10:07 PM
#45
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You are a sick, sick man Nate, Have you sought therapy yet?? If you have and its working give me the number because I'll need that number too.
I've gotta hand it to you. I love subtle clean mods and this is a perfect example. You are also a very determined SOB. It took a ton of work, to the person whos never been in your car they might not know the difference, but the enthusiast sure will. Looks great so far man, keep us up to date with pics during teh process. Looks sweet as hell
Gonna go order something more for my car right now, talk to yo later....Help me!!!!
I've gotta hand it to you. I love subtle clean mods and this is a perfect example. You are also a very determined SOB. It took a ton of work, to the person whos never been in your car they might not know the difference, but the enthusiast sure will. Looks great so far man, keep us up to date with pics during teh process. Looks sweet as hell
Gonna go order something more for my car right now, talk to yo later....Help me!!!!
01-13-2002, 02:10 PM
#46
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Originally posted by Nate
My girlfriend and I worked all night, by the end we had it down - she'd cut and assemble the pieces and I'd solder and glue.
Its still pretty slow going though, delicate work.
My girlfriend and I worked all night, by the end we had it down - she'd cut and assemble the pieces and I'd solder and glue.
Its still pretty slow going though, delicate work.
01-14-2002, 02:42 PM
#48
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Thanks for the compliments guys!
daverman/bebber, why would I use a resistor when the voltage is already only 2V? I'm afraid the 3.5V LEDs won't even light, putting more resistance in the circuit is only going to make it worse. I see no need for it, please convince me!
Hehe, sorry Mr Hyde, theres no help for me!
jasonh1234 and preludeshfan, the LED that lights the red defrost button is the same one that lights the rear window defrost button. It would be possible to make some sort of divider and run 2 different LEDs but I don't think its worth the effort.
jasonh1234, I can't say theres really anything I'd do different, besides getting the LEDs faster.
So far, the project has gone better than I ever expected! However, there are a couple future items I am concerned about.
Its hard to say if they are too bright since I haven't put my dash completely back together yet. But Streetz tells me a package should arrive by Friday so hopefully this weekend.
I haven't done the radio yet, maybe tonight. I'm not sure how I'm going to replace those incandescent bulbs... and if I don't its going to look like **** with the bright blue of the rest of the dash offset by the crappy stock green of the radio. If I'm unable to change the radio LEDs, I may have to go for an aftermarket HU - not something I want to do because I'd have to make a nice faceplate, install new door speakers, etc.
The heated seat switches are going to be a *****... the reason being that the resistors have to come out the sides (see this pic). These 2 switches have to slide and snap through a hole in their dash piece, there is no room for anything to stick out their sides, not even a wire (so I can't extend it, to answer your question preludeshfan). What I'll have to do is put the switch through its hole and snap it in place, then put the LEDs in from the side. Since the LEDs are inserted in the right side of the switch, this is an easy task for the passenger's heated seat switch. For the driver's side, the bottom 2 LEDs will be easily inserted. However, the top LED is partially covered, requiring small amount of plastic to be removed so that I can insert the LED. I'll try and take a pic of it.
daverman/bebber, why would I use a resistor when the voltage is already only 2V? I'm afraid the 3.5V LEDs won't even light, putting more resistance in the circuit is only going to make it worse. I see no need for it, please convince me!
Hehe, sorry Mr Hyde, theres no help for me!
jasonh1234 and preludeshfan, the LED that lights the red defrost button is the same one that lights the rear window defrost button. It would be possible to make some sort of divider and run 2 different LEDs but I don't think its worth the effort.
jasonh1234, I can't say theres really anything I'd do different, besides getting the LEDs faster.
So far, the project has gone better than I ever expected! However, there are a couple future items I am concerned about.Its hard to say if they are too bright since I haven't put my dash completely back together yet. But Streetz tells me a package should arrive by Friday so hopefully this weekend.
I haven't done the radio yet, maybe tonight. I'm not sure how I'm going to replace those incandescent bulbs... and if I don't its going to look like **** with the bright blue of the rest of the dash offset by the crappy stock green of the radio. If I'm unable to change the radio LEDs, I may have to go for an aftermarket HU - not something I want to do because I'd have to make a nice faceplate, install new door speakers, etc.
The heated seat switches are going to be a *****... the reason being that the resistors have to come out the sides (see this pic). These 2 switches have to slide and snap through a hole in their dash piece, there is no room for anything to stick out their sides, not even a wire (so I can't extend it, to answer your question preludeshfan). What I'll have to do is put the switch through its hole and snap it in place, then put the LEDs in from the side. Since the LEDs are inserted in the right side of the switch, this is an easy task for the passenger's heated seat switch. For the driver's side, the bottom 2 LEDs will be easily inserted. However, the top LED is partially covered, requiring small amount of plastic to be removed so that I can insert the LED. I'll try and take a pic of it.
01-14-2002, 04:01 PM
#49
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Altho light bulbs fall somewhere in the frou-frou category IMO, the fact that you put all this DIY effort in doing something that NO ONE else has is in the best spirit of modding cars. Nice Job!
01-14-2002, 11:26 PM
#50
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Is the forward biased Vce (collector to emitter voltage) of the LED really 3.5v in the active mode? That sounds unusually high to me. LED's really should use a resistor to help limit the current flow regardless. Ok, try it with a small resistor and see if it lights up. If it does light up, then no harm is done. If you connect the LED without a resistor, you still risk the chance of overdriving it and having it burn out after like a few minutes of usage, or just generally shorten it's life span.
You have anything to add Daverman?
You have anything to add Daverman?
01-15-2002, 09:25 PM
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Thanks TuRb0MiKeY!
Not sure bebber... the only power ratings I have are
Vf = V, typ/max: 3.5/4.0
and
If = mA, typ/max: 10/25
What happened to Daverman?
Not sure bebber... the only power ratings I have are
Vf = V, typ/max: 3.5/4.0
and
If = mA, typ/max: 10/25
What happened to Daverman?
01-15-2002, 10:02 PM
#52
definitely very trick!
but i gotta ask...what is so special about the LEDs themselves? i was at a local electronics shop (looking for the relay and/or switch to do the navi conversion) and they had some nice looking blue ones (small and big sizes). the little ones were like a couple of bucks each albeit out of stock. in other words, what does someone look for, specwise, when attempting to do the same?
but i gotta ask...what is so special about the LEDs themselves? i was at a local electronics shop (looking for the relay and/or switch to do the navi conversion) and they had some nice looking blue ones (small and big sizes). the little ones were like a couple of bucks each albeit out of stock. in other words, what does someone look for, specwise, when attempting to do the same?
01-16-2002, 12:19 PM
#53
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The major factor is it has to be wide angle. Atleast 120 degrees. That right there blows away just about every LED you've ever seen. Most LEDs are 15-30 degrees, that is a very concentrated beam and won't look nice in your dash.
Also, you need very bright LEDs. The buttons in the AC panel are small and have a non-removeable blue filter already in them that makes them harder to illuminate brightly. Almost every bulb shines through a blue filter - this is what made the yellow stock light bulbs shine green. The only filter I found I could take out was the one behind the clock (non-navi).
Finally, you need a lot (~25+) of 3mm and a few (~6-8) 5mm LEDs. They need to be 12V or less and all the same color (mine are 470nm, "super blue").
You'll also need 7 regular LEDs (30 degrees) of the same color for the window switches. These have to be low power as the stock window switch LEDs (yep, those are stock LEDs!) run off only 2V. I found that running one of the $6, 3.5V, 3mm LEDs I used in the dash off even 2.7V did not light it enough... at 2V it would really suck. I just ordered some 3V, 470nm, 2500mcd, 30 degree LEDs for the windows ($3 a piece). 2500mcd is BRIGHT (these are used for fiber optics) so I think they'll do ok at 2V. I only ordered 2 because I want to test them out first, but the company I got these from won't take 3 months! They are shipping them out today.
I think thats about it. Finding cheap, bright, wide angle LEDs isn't easy.
Also, you need very bright LEDs. The buttons in the AC panel are small and have a non-removeable blue filter already in them that makes them harder to illuminate brightly. Almost every bulb shines through a blue filter - this is what made the yellow stock light bulbs shine green. The only filter I found I could take out was the one behind the clock (non-navi).
Finally, you need a lot (~25+) of 3mm and a few (~6-8) 5mm LEDs. They need to be 12V or less and all the same color (mine are 470nm, "super blue").
You'll also need 7 regular LEDs (30 degrees) of the same color for the window switches. These have to be low power as the stock window switch LEDs (yep, those are stock LEDs!) run off only 2V. I found that running one of the $6, 3.5V, 3mm LEDs I used in the dash off even 2.7V did not light it enough... at 2V it would really suck. I just ordered some 3V, 470nm, 2500mcd, 30 degree LEDs for the windows ($3 a piece). 2500mcd is BRIGHT (these are used for fiber optics) so I think they'll do ok at 2V. I only ordered 2 because I want to test them out first, but the company I got these from won't take 3 months! They are shipping them out today.
I think thats about it.
Finding cheap, bright, wide angle LEDs isn't easy.
01-16-2002, 07:42 PM
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Nate,
first off congrats on your hard work, it definately paid off and you for damn sure made a lot of us jealous! i've been wanting to do this for years myself, but of course lack the skills for it so thank you thank you and many thanks again for having the cajones to pull it off. my question, is where would you go about finding wide angle red LED's? i'd like to use red and blue in my dash, (the same as the silver reverse indiglo's) b/c my headunit (kenwood KDC-X815) illuminates both red and blue. the clock, would definately have to be white or super blue what do you think?
again, awesome work! thanks for your help,
jason
first off congrats on your hard work, it definately paid off and you for damn sure made a lot of us jealous! i've been wanting to do this for years myself, but of course lack the skills for it so thank you thank you and many thanks again for having the cajones to pull it off. my question, is where would you go about finding wide angle red LED's? i'd like to use red and blue in my dash, (the same as the silver reverse indiglo's) b/c my headunit (kenwood KDC-X815) illuminates both red and blue. the clock, would definately have to be white or super blue what do you think?
again, awesome work! thanks for your help,
jason
01-16-2002, 09:05 PM
#55
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Thanks FRESHV6! You could start by browsing http://www.led.net though they took 3 months to get me the LEDs. Make sure you look at their pages carefully, theres a lot of info there. Miss one little link and that might have been the best LED! I have the contact info you should use if you find what you need. If they have what you need in stock (red is much more popular than blue) they can ship them out right away. If they don't it may be a long wait (maybe forever). Or you could search for a different place to buy your LEDs, red is much easier to find. I have only looked for blue so I can't help you much further with finding them.
See my post above this one on what kind of LEDs you'll need. I see you have an Accord V6 and so I can't tell you exactly how many to buy. If you'd like, I can go sit in my parent's V6 and estimate for you (email or PM me if you want me to or I'll forget), otherwise you'll have to dismantle your car to find out, or just order a ****load.
The installation should be real similiar on the Accords, they'll have all the same type of clips (thats a 99.9% guess) and I'd bet the stock window switch LEDs are the same. I can't remember what the HU looks like but that may be a hard one, just like the TLs.
This stuff is all pretty easy, you just have to plan it out and be careful while doing it!
You could start by browsing http://www.led.net though they took 3 months to get me the LEDs. Make sure you look at their pages carefully, theres a lot of info there. Miss one little link and that might have been the best LED! I have the contact info you should use if you find what you need. If they have what you need in stock (red is much more popular than blue) they can ship them out right away. If they don't it may be a long wait (maybe forever). Or you could search for a different place to buy your LEDs, red is much easier to find. I have only looked for blue so I can't help you much further with finding them.See my post above this one on what kind of LEDs you'll need. I see you have an Accord V6 and so I can't tell you exactly how many to buy. If you'd like, I can go sit in my parent's V6 and estimate for you (email or PM me if you want me to or I'll forget), otherwise you'll have to dismantle your car to find out, or just order a ****load.
The installation should be real similiar on the Accords, they'll have all the same type of clips (thats a 99.9% guess) and I'd bet the stock window switch LEDs are the same. I can't remember what the HU looks like but that may be a hard one, just like the TLs.
This stuff is all pretty easy, you just have to plan it out and be careful while doing it!
01-16-2002, 09:09 PM
#56
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Yep, red LEDs are more abundant AND cheaper...
http://www.netdisty.net/ds/ld120cwr/
They even have 6.8V and 10V ones. I'd be afraid of it coming out pink, so you might get 2 or 3 LEDs first to try them out before buying 30+. But the specs say 200mcd on some of those... that should be pretty damn bright in a 160 degree radius!
http://www.netdisty.net/ds/ld120cwr/
They even have 6.8V and 10V ones. I'd be afraid of it coming out pink, so you might get 2 or 3 LEDs first to try them out before buying 30+. But the specs say 200mcd on some of those... that should be pretty damn bright in a 160 degree radius!
01-17-2002, 09:48 PM
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arghhhhhh.... i just wrote this long ass reply and it gave me some weird error. WTF?
anyway.... i'll try to rewrite what i typed last night:
nate, thanks for the quick reply, i really appreciate it. i pretty much ripped apart my dash too, though not to the extent of yours of course. i have the number of bulbs and sizes written down on a piece of paper but I think i've misplaced it. i believe our clock houses one bulb, and i think a superwhite color would be really cool, or blue which always looks awesome. i'm not too familiar with electronics as far voltages, watts, etc. go so any help you could provide will be a blessing! unfortanately, my year accords do not have the window control illumination.. but i do have a fog light switch and cruise control, hopefully i can try those out as guinea pigs. i will refer back to the pics in your other posts, but a detailed set of instructions will be awesome. things like that i have to be taken through step by step or i'm certain to f*ck things up
i'd also like to get a set of red tach needles to finish it up, my year accord has orange needles, (i think they introduced the red needles in the 2000+ coupes only). hopefully i can acquire a set from that or a TL, do you know of any places i can pick up a set for cheap?
thanks again Nate, please keep in touch!
-jason
anyway.... i'll try to rewrite what i typed last night:
nate, thanks for the quick reply, i really appreciate it. i pretty much ripped apart my dash too, though not to the extent of yours of course. i have the number of bulbs and sizes written down on a piece of paper but I think i've misplaced it. i believe our clock houses one bulb, and i think a superwhite color would be really cool, or blue which always looks awesome. i'm not too familiar with electronics as far voltages, watts, etc. go so any help you could provide will be a blessing! unfortanately, my year accords do not have the window control illumination.. but i do have a fog light switch and cruise control, hopefully i can try those out as guinea pigs. i will refer back to the pics in your other posts, but a detailed set of instructions will be awesome. things like that i have to be taken through step by step or i'm certain to f*ck things up
i'd also like to get a set of red tach needles to finish it up, my year accord has orange needles, (i think they introduced the red needles in the 2000+ coupes only). hopefully i can acquire a set from that or a TL, do you know of any places i can pick up a set for cheap?
thanks again Nate, please keep in touch!
-jason
01-18-2002, 04:46 AM
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Hey Nate, sent you a PM.
I was also wondering if in addition to my questions there if you could send me any contact's e-mails addresses. Any people you were dealing with that were maybe more helpfull than someone I'd get a hold of. Someone that might know what I'm talking about merely at the mention of your name or the project. :-)
I was also wondering if in addition to my questions there if you could send me any contact's e-mails addresses. Any people you were dealing with that were maybe more helpfull than someone I'd get a hold of. Someone that might know what I'm talking about merely at the mention of your name or the project. :-)
01-20-2002, 03:27 PM
#61
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FRESHV6, I'll be making a tutorial as I get too many questions and emails about this. Not sure about the needles, nor whether TL gauges (which are a controlled item and hard to get) will work.
jasonh1234, did I respond to your PM? My PM box is empty and I don't remember. Contacts for the NetDisty, which is LEDtonics distributor and who handles LEDtronics' smaller orders:
Jean: staci@netdisty.com OR jean@netdisty.com
Jean: 1-310-326-5806
Nasser: njhumra@ledtronics.com
Both should remember me at the mention of my name (Nathan Sweet) as I've bothered them so much.
Jean is who you should talk to. She recently replaced Staci but last I checked hadn't switched emails. Probably has by now. Just call her anyway, they are slow to respond to emails usually.
Nasser runs the joint so don't bother him too much or you'll never get any LEDs. To get Nasser on the phone, call Jean and ask for him. But Jean should be able to handle your order. Hopefully it'll go as smooth as calling, telling her what you want and how many, giving up the CC info and shipping address, then hanging up.
Thanks dnd2984! Yeah, my windows are now tinted with a 35% reflective tint. Looks tight! Its not real dark so I can still backup and see where the rims are in the dark, but when there is lots of light outside the tint is just like a mirror.
jasonh1234, did I respond to your PM? My PM box is empty and I don't remember. Contacts for the NetDisty, which is LEDtonics distributor and who handles LEDtronics' smaller orders:
Jean: staci@netdisty.com OR jean@netdisty.com
Jean: 1-310-326-5806
Nasser: njhumra@ledtronics.com
Both should remember me at the mention of my name (Nathan Sweet) as I've bothered them so much.
Jean is who you should talk to. She recently replaced Staci but last I checked hadn't switched emails. Probably has by now. Just call her anyway, they are slow to respond to emails usually.
Nasser runs the joint so don't bother him too much or you'll never get any LEDs.
To get Nasser on the phone, call Jean and ask for him. But Jean should be able to handle your order. Hopefully it'll go as smooth as calling, telling her what you want and how many, giving up the CC info and shipping address, then hanging up. Thanks dnd2984!
Yeah, my windows are now tinted with a 35% reflective tint. Looks tight! Its not real dark so I can still backup and see where the rims are in the dark, but when there is lots of light outside the tint is just like a mirror.
01-25-2002, 06:28 PM
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Damn looking great Nate. Which ones did you end up getting? is it the single chip or multichip ones? would you mind posting the pt #'s? I'm going back to malaysia for a month, but when I get back I know what I'll be getting into
Thanks again for the great tips. Those SMT LEDS I was going after were freakin obnoxiously bright, with a huge viewing angle, but they were just too darn tiny, I had one of my techs sit under a magnifying glass to put an SMT resistor on, and 32 gauge wire leads, and the wire was bigger than the light itself lol. SInce they turned out to be about the same price as the netdisty ones, I'll probably be going with them too. I want to order them before I leave so they will get here some time before hell freezes over hehe.
Thanks again for the great tips. Those SMT LEDS I was going after were freakin obnoxiously bright, with a huge viewing angle, but they were just too darn tiny, I had one of my techs sit under a magnifying glass to put an SMT resistor on, and 32 gauge wire leads, and the wire was bigger than the light itself lol. SInce they turned out to be about the same price as the netdisty ones, I'll probably be going with them too. I want to order them before I leave so they will get here some time before hell freezes over hehe.
01-27-2002, 02:03 PM
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I'm just reading thru all of this for the first time. Looks very very nice, good job. I'm not afraid to pull apart my car but it sounds like many hours of tedious work. Congrats, would be nice to see a final pic.
Two questions: You said it would be crappy to not have everything in blue, so would you recommend that I not attempt to just do the switches (dash switches, seat heaters, etc) in blue and leave the rest alone?
And how many hours total would you say you've put into this project?
Thanks.
Two questions: You said it would be crappy to not have everything in blue, so would you recommend that I not attempt to just do the switches (dash switches, seat heaters, etc) in blue and leave the rest alone?
And how many hours total would you say you've put into this project?
Thanks.
01-27-2002, 05:29 PM
#64
Nate you are a TL guru, now i need help. My friends has a 99 maxima se and when his gauge lights up it was white and he changed the bulb out and made all this gauges light up red, kinda looks like the RSX. Well is it possible to do that to the TL, make the # light up blue.
01-31-2002, 03:06 AM
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illusion, single chip ones. Parts:
L121CB1K-3.5VF (3mm)
L201CB1K-3.5VF (5mm)
kensteele, thanks! I guess its a personal preference whether you want to do just the buttons in blue. IMO you'd be introducing yet another color in the car and it would probably look out of place. Gauges are red, some buttons are blue, everything else is green... thats alot of contrast.
As for how many hours I've put into this... I can't really say.. between researching this crap, searcing for LEDs that will work, taking apart the car, taking pictures, posting and discussing results, waiting on NetDisty, soldering LEDs, taking apart the doors, figuring out how to do the radio, etc etc... many many hours. Actual time spent soldering LEDs was 5 hours or so - my girl and I did it in one evening. We did all the switches and AC panel. It was fun, even Jenny thought so. I love that girl!
dnd2984, maybe, but you'd have to find the right bulbs to replace. Using a condom or that plasticoat stuff you dip plier handles in will make your gauges very dim. I've not seen any bulbs that will be a direct replacement.
Tonight I finally had time to go over to my friend's house and have him look at my radio. He works on robotics, he is the man behind Robot Sumo and he helps set up those robot fighting shows in the US and Japan.
His idea was to desolder the stock bulbs from the PCB and solder the LEDs in the same holes. Then he is going to cut the traces and solder in either a 1/8 watt resisitor or an SMT resistor, whatever will fit better (space is limited behind some of those ulbs).
I had forgotten to bring my LEDs with me so we couldn't do it tonight, however, upon getting home I tackled the problem of figuring out what voltage the stock bulbs are. I guessed they were 12 volts, but if he did all that delicate soldering and I was wrong... we'd both be pretty pissed.
Now how did I figure it out? You have to plug in the radio to get the bulbs to light up to take a reading. But that means the radio has to be put together, and when it is, there is no way to get at the back of the PCB to take a reading from the solder marks. Theres no exposed traces on the front of the board, it looks like the traces leading to the bulbs are on the back.
So I used a very very special tool for this one. This tool requires extreme care and caution, it must be used very delicately. I took the tool and careful placed it over one of the bulbs, then I squeezed the handles of the pliers togeter and smashed the **** out of the bulb! That should let you know how dedicated I am to doing this ****!
I then used my digi multimeter to take a reading at the broken filament. The stock radio bulbs are 7.5 volts! Good thing I didn't make an ASS of U and ME.
Nows it just a matter of getting some of the correct resistors and getting my friend to do it! Please correct me if I'm wrong (the LEDs are 3.5v and 10/25ma):
(7.5v - 3.5v) / 20ma = 200ohm
So... still to do in my LED project:
<li>finish work on the radio (buy 1/8w and SMT resistors, solder LEDs and resistors)
<li>change the ignition keyhole light to blue (I had missed this one so far! :wow:
<li>change the shifter light, door window lights (LEDs should arrive by the end of this week, might do it this weekend), and gauge LCD lights
By the time I'm done the indiglo gauges should be here! That'll be totally sweet.
L121CB1K-3.5VF (3mm)
L201CB1K-3.5VF (5mm)
kensteele, thanks! I guess its a personal preference whether you want to do just the buttons in blue. IMO you'd be introducing yet another color in the car and it would probably look out of place. Gauges are red, some buttons are blue, everything else is green... thats alot of contrast.
As for how many hours I've put into this... I can't really say.. between researching this crap, searcing for LEDs that will work, taking apart the car, taking pictures, posting and discussing results, waiting on NetDisty, soldering LEDs, taking apart the doors, figuring out how to do the radio, etc etc... many many hours. Actual time spent soldering LEDs was 5 hours or so - my girl and I did it in one evening. We did all the switches and AC panel. It was fun, even Jenny thought so. I love that girl!
dnd2984, maybe, but you'd have to find the right bulbs to replace. Using a condom or that plasticoat stuff you dip plier handles in will make your gauges very dim. I've not seen any bulbs that will be a direct replacement.
Tonight I finally had time to go over to my friend's house and have him look at my radio. He works on robotics, he is the man behind Robot Sumo and he helps set up those robot fighting shows in the US and Japan.
His idea was to desolder the stock bulbs from the PCB and solder the LEDs in the same holes. Then he is going to cut the traces and solder in either a 1/8 watt resisitor or an SMT resistor, whatever will fit better (space is limited behind some of those ulbs).
I had forgotten to bring my LEDs with me so we couldn't do it tonight, however, upon getting home I tackled the problem of figuring out what voltage the stock bulbs are. I guessed they were 12 volts, but if he did all that delicate soldering and I was wrong... we'd both be pretty pissed.
Now how did I figure it out? You have to plug in the radio to get the bulbs to light up to take a reading. But that means the radio has to be put together, and when it is, there is no way to get at the back of the PCB to take a reading from the solder marks. Theres no exposed traces on the front of the board, it looks like the traces leading to the bulbs are on the back.
So I used a very very special tool for this one. This tool requires extreme care and caution, it must be used very delicately. I took the tool and careful placed it over one of the bulbs, then I squeezed the handles of the pliers togeter and smashed the **** out of the bulb!
That should let you know how dedicated I am to doing this ****! I then used my digi multimeter to take a reading at the broken filament. The stock radio bulbs are 7.5 volts!
Good thing I didn't make an ASS of U and ME.Nows it just a matter of getting some of the correct resistors and getting my friend to do it! Please correct me if I'm wrong (the LEDs are 3.5v and 10/25ma):
(7.5v - 3.5v) / 20ma = 200ohm
So... still to do in my LED project:
<li>finish work on the radio (buy 1/8w and SMT resistors, solder LEDs and resistors)
<li>change the ignition keyhole light to blue (I had missed this one so far! :wow:
<li>change the shifter light, door window lights (LEDs should arrive by the end of this week, might do it this weekend), and gauge LCD lights
By the time I'm done the indiglo gauges should be here! That'll be totally sweet.
01-31-2002, 05:14 PM
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hey Nate on my Accord the gauge bulbs are 168/194 bulbs do u noe if i can put those 194 led bulbs thats on autodynamics? or am i better off gettin the polarg 194/168? is the polarg hyperwhites brighter than the stock? would it melt anything if i use the polargs?
01-31-2002, 05:20 PM
#67
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I have the blue LED bulbs from autodynamic in my door lights. They are a push in type and all my gauges use a twist in. The 168 bulb is the same as whats in our blinkers right? Isn't that a pretty big bulb?
01-31-2002, 06:04 PM
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you can be rich
man, if you go around installing this for people, you can get rich by going around and installing this for people, given that you don't let them see their dash all torn out like that pic, that gives me cringes as well..
but yea..i, along with many TL owners, would love that mod.....that looks sooooooo sweet.
but yea..i, along with many TL owners, would love that mod.....that looks sooooooo sweet.
01-31-2002, 06:10 PM
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hey Nate, yea ours are twist ins too but the bulb plugs into the plastic twist in thing, i'm wonderin if the 194 leds are bigger than the stock 194s if so then i don't think the 194 leds can fit in behind the guages, so is the led ones bigger?
02-01-2002, 02:30 AM
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They are about the same size, maybe a little bigger. I'll take another look this weekend, its been a while. Would be great to use the fat LEDs for my gauges LCD.
02-01-2002, 02:46 AM
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Just linking the next thread in the project for people reading through this later. Check out the radio and window switches:
http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=32274
http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=32274
02-07-2002, 07:22 PM
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hey there nate....damn i just found this thread and found out you been doing the same thing i have been doing....thats crazy...i havent done it on the tl yet but been working on the prelude right now i have some pic if nayone is interested
http://www.preludeonline.com/showthr...986#post504986
http://www.preludeonline.com/showthr...986#post504986
02-12-2002, 02:06 AM
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Hey wsup guys, NATE U ARE THE **** MAN, all that **** is TITE~!!!! anyways, does anyone know how to do this in Southern California?? If so please hit me up at nexttq@yahoo.com. i'll pay whoever could do this for me! Cause i don't got the balls to take my **** apart, and its better for someone who knows how to do it rather than me reading instructions! please help! 
02-13-2002, 03:15 AM
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Well, first of all, although everybody said it, you ARE the man, nate.
I think there's enough demand here to create a group buy for these LEDs. Frankly, for $6-8 each it seems expensive for an LED even purchased in bulk. Can we arrange to get a mass produced price if we all jump in on a group buy?
...And some more detailed instructions, especially on soldering the LED's would be very helpful.
I think there's enough demand here to create a group buy for these LEDs. Frankly, for $6-8 each it seems expensive for an LED even purchased in bulk. Can we arrange to get a mass produced price if we all jump in on a group buy?
...And some more detailed instructions, especially on soldering the LED's would be very helpful.
02-13-2002, 05:00 AM
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hey nate, great job on the mods! I'd love to do this mod...but the price for the LEDs have strayed me away...like Jon said, if we can get a group buy going...i'd surely get it
02-13-2002, 08:53 PM
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Thanks guys!
I'll definitely post instructions and I may even be convinced to do some of your car's if you send me the pieces... and some cash! Hehe, this stuff takes quite a bit of time and theres the risk of ruining your parts.
JonHsiung, specialty LEDs are pretty expensive. We'd need a groupbuy of crazy proportions (probably like 5000 LEDs)... its not really an option I don't think. The LEDs are expensive, but thats all you really have to pay for. The rest is just your time.
Check this out:
I'll definitely post instructions and I may even be convinced to do some of your car's if you send me the pieces... and some cash! Hehe, this stuff takes quite a bit of time and theres the risk of ruining your parts.
JonHsiung, specialty LEDs are pretty expensive. We'd need a groupbuy of crazy proportions (probably like 5000 LEDs)... its not really an option I don't think. The LEDs are expensive, but thats all you really have to pay for. The rest is just your time.
Check this out:
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